Elevator operating mechanism



March 15, 1938. J, sc

' ELEVATOR OPERATING MECHANISM Filed Aug. 13, 1937 ZSheets-Sheetl 4 man4 my 1 w INVENTOR. Julian N. Schiff I ATTORNEY.

March 15, J, N sci- ELEVATOR OPERATING MECHANISM Filed Aug. 1:5, 1937 2Sheets-Sheet 2 mvrszgroa Julian N. .Schlff ATTORNEY.

Patented Mar. 15, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ELEVATOR OPERATINGMECHANISM I Julien N. Schifi, West Englewood, N. J.

Application August 13, 1937, Serial No. 158,879

6 Claims.

This invention relates to elevator operating mechanisms and is directedespecially to socalled sidewalk elevators adapted primarily for thetransfer of freight, ashes and other materials from cellars, basementsand sub-basements to the street level. Elevators of this charactergenerally embody a platform mounted to vertically slide between fixedguides mounted in a hatch; A bow, mounted on the platform, co- 1operates with these guides and is provided with a curved top adapted toraise and lower hinged street level doors as the elevator is operated.The elevator is suspended on two or more cables, one end of each ofwhich is connected to the platform and is from thence passed upwardlyand over sheaves mounted in the hatch adjacent, but below, the streetlevel and from these sheaves the cables extend downwardly and aresecured to winding drums fixed on a shaft extending transversely acrossthe bottom of the-hatch at the basement level.

Under present practice the drum shaft is connected through a gear trainto a Winding crank which, when operated in one direction, serves otherdirection, serves tolower the same. A

locking pawl is generally provided to hold the elevator in raisedposition, so that the hands of the operator may be removed from thehandle 30. when the elevator is at rest.

In the known mechanisms of the character described, the winding devicesare bulky and take up considerable space and the elevator must be woundup as well as wound down. Furthermore, if the locking pawl and crank areboth released at any one time, the elevator will drop and, if theoperator is standing too close to the crank he may be struck thereby andseverely injured.

. The objects of the present invention are to 0 minimize the spacerequired for the operating parts, to appreciably economize in the costof installation, to facilitate the operation of the elevator, and torender the installation safer than heretofore.

The present invention provides a very compact winding mechanism wherebythe elevator may be raised through the operation of either a Windingcrank or by mechanical or electrical power, but said winding mechanismis so constituted 50 that the elevator is automatically locked in placewhenever the handle is released through the incorporation into suchmechanism of a worm drive. The mechanism also embodies means fordisconnecting the worm drive when it is desired to lower the elevatorand there is also included an .to raise the elevator and, when operatedin the eflicient and reliable friction brake whereby the elevator may belowered by gravity and the speed controlled by said brake.

The device of this invention materially reduces the cost of installationand renders the operation of elevators more safe and simple and lessarduous than heretofore.

Features of the invention, other than those specified, will be apparentfrom the hereinafter detailed description and claims, when read inconjunction with the accompanying drawings.

The accompanying drawings illustrate one practical embodiment of theinvention, but the construction therein shown is to be understood asillustrative, only, and not as defining thelimits of the invention.

Figure 1 is a vertical section through the hatch or shaftway at the drumshaft taken in the plane of the line l-l of Figure 3, but showing theshaft with the drums thereon unsectioned.

Figure 2 is a section taken in substantially the plane of the line 2-2of Figure 1 with certain of the gears and shafts in elevation.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the elevator operating mechanism of thisinvention, as it appears when viewed from the right hand side of Figure'1. Y

Figure 4 is a section on the line 4 4 of Figure 3.

Referring first to Figure 1 of the drawings, I designates the platformof the elevator guided in the'conventional way for vertical movement inthe hatch or shaftway 2. The platform may be provided with the usualbow, not shown, and has secured thereto lifting cables which pass aboutsheaves adjacent the street level in the shaftway and then extenddownwardly and are secured to the drums 3 on the drum shaft 4. Anynumber of cables may be employed and any number of drums may be used andthey may be single or double. The present invention is not limited tothese factors and detailed showing thereof is considered unnecessary.The drawings simply show two lifting drums 3 of any conventional kindmounted on the drum shaft 4.

According to' the present invention, I secure to the outer end of thedrum shaft a large combinai tion worm and spur gear 5, the exterior ofthe periphery of which is provided with Worm wheel teeth 6, while theinterior of such gear constitutes an internal spur gear I. This gear maybe of integral construction or may be built up if desired. The largegear 5 is keyed to the shaft i against rotation thereon and the shaft ismounted in bearings 4a of any appropriate type fixedly secured at thesides of the hatch.

The large gear 5 is mounted within a casing comprising a back plate 8and a cover plate 9 secured together by bolts or anchoring studs Ill.The upper part of the casing is enlarged to provide a housing I! inwhich is fitted a yoke l2. This yoke is slidable toward and away fromthe drum shaft and extending across the fork of the yoke is a worm I3,the opposite hubs of which are journalled in the legs of the yoke andextend through slots M in the opposite ends of the housing H. Thrustbearings I5 may be associated with one or both ends of the worm asdesired. Secured to one end of the hub of the worm is an operating shaftI6 to which is secured a crank or crank wheel I! having an outboardbearing I8 which may be support.

The top of the housing is provided with an opening H: at the oppositesides of which are upstanding lugs 20 and a cam 2| extends between theselugs and through the opening and is adapted to bear against the top ofthe yoke. The cam is pivoted on a pin 22 which extends throughthe lugs23- and in the cam is formed an opening 23 through which extends a pin24 carried by upstanding lugs 25 on the yoke. The eccentric edge 23 ofthe opening 23 is so shaped that, when the cam is moved in a clockwisedirection, the pin 2 will be elevated and lift the yoke sufiiciently todisengage the worm from the worm wheel teeth 6, while the exterior edgeof the cam is so shaped that, when the cam is moved in acounterclockwise direction, the cam will bear down upon the yoke andforce it downwardly to re-engage the worm with the worm wheel. The cammay be operated in any suitable manner, but I preferably use a link 21connected to a hand lever 28 and employ a locking pawl 29 to lock thecam in the position wherein it holds the worm and worm gear in mesh.

Journalled in the cover plate 9 of the casing is a brake spindle 30, theoutboard end of which is carried on a bracket 3|. To the inner end ofthis spindle is fixed a pinion 32 meshing with the internal spur gear 1and between the cover plate and the outboard bearing 3| is fixed a brakedrum 33. With the brake drum cooperates the brake band 34, the oppositeends of which are secured to" studs 35 carried by a lever 36 on oppositesides of the pivot 31 thereof, so that pivotal movement of the brakelever 36 will vary the braking action between the brake band 34 and thedrum 33. The brake lever 35 is secured to the operating handle 38 by aninterposed link 39 which may have associated therewith a locking pawlll] of any appropriate kind.

In the operation of the apparatus the elevator is raised by rotating thehand wheel or crank I! manually or, if desired, a suitable source ofelectrical or mechanical power can be connected with the shaft E3 torot-ate the worm while in engagement with the worm wheel, and the powerthus transmitted to the worm wheel will rotate the drum shaft 4 to raisethe elevator. During this operation, the brake is of course released andthe cam 21 is in the position shown in Figure 2. If the hand is removedfrom the hand wheel or the power shut off in any position while the cam2| is locked in place as shown, the worm will lock the worm wheelagainst contrarotation. Consequently the installation will be perfectlysafe as the worm wheel constitutes a self locking connection between thedriving and driven parts. The elevator may be thus lifted throughrotation of the shaft l6, as stated, until it reaches street mounted onany convenient fixed 7 'gear 5.

level, where it will remain looked in a perfectly safe condition untilit is desired to lower the elevator. When this is desired the brake bandis caused to grip the brake drum and the lever 28 is thereupon operatedto act upon the cam and lift the worm free of the worm wheel. Thishaving been accomplished, the brake lever is eased up slightly to permitthe brake drum to slowly rotate and allow the weight of the elevator to.cause it to descend under the braking action of the brake band upon thedrum. It may be lowered rapidly or slowly within the will of theoperator and its descent can be nicely controlled at all times for itwill be noted that the brake drum is relatively large while the pinion32 is relatively small and acts upon the drum shaft 4 through the largeradius of the Consequently a very slow speed of descent for heavy loadscan be readily obtained and while the elevator is descending the crankhandle is at rest, so that there is no danger of injury to persons suchas is present in most prior installations where the crank lever ispositively connected at'all times to the elevator operating mechanism,and must rot-ateirrespective of the direction of the movement of theelevator,

My experience in installing elevator operating systems has shown thatprovision should be made for widely ,varying conditions of installation.Sometimes. conditions require that the operating mechanism be controlledfrom one side of the hatch while in other installations an oppositearrangement is necessary because of the space available under particularcircumstances. Furthermore there are times when the operating handlesI1, 28, and 38 may have to be positioned relatively high and otherplaces where they will be required to be in relatively low position. Forthese reasons, the parts are made so that they can be interchanged fromright to left or vice versa, and the cover plate 9 is also shiftablefrom the truly vertical position shown in full lines in Figure 3 to theright or left as indicated in dot and dash lines or dotted lines,respectively, by merely changing the particular lugs through which thebolts H! are passed. By the latter arrangement the angularity of theoperating shaft l6 may be changed, so that the hand wheel or crank willbe in a most convenient position and by making the parts right and leftthe cam 2| and its operating link 21 may be shifted over to the rightside, similarly the worm and its shaft It may be turned end for end andthe brake mechanism, with its outboard bearing bracket 3|, may be alsoshifted over to the other side of the drum shaft 4, as indicated indotted lines in Figure 3, so that the whole structure may be controlledfrom the right side instead of left side, as will be clearly understoodby those familiar with the practical problems of installation.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that the operatingparts of this invention are unusually compact which permits the deviceto be positioned within very confined spaces and still operate withthorough satisfaction. Moreover, by housing all of the operating partswithin a closed casing, it is possible to load the casing with grease,so that these parts will operate without undue wear through long periodsof time and without requiring frequent maintenance. The brake drum andband are, however, in exposed position where they can be readily cooledby the surrounding air and are so accessible that they can be readilyserviced when necessary without requiring dismantling of the otheroperating parts. Moreover, the arrangement is such that the operatingparts are who1ly housed within a closed casing which excludes theentrance of dirt or other extraneous matter which would cause wear andshorten the life of the parts.

My experience with the present invention has shown that it is thoroughlyefficient in carrying out its intended purposes, that it is unusuallysimple to install, that it contains no parts that are apt to get out oforder and that it is thoroughly safe and efficient under all conditions.

The foregoing detailed description sets forth the invention in itspreferred practical form, but the invention is to be understood as fullycommensurate with the appended claims.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An elevator operating mechanism comprising a lifting drum shaft, acombination worm and spur gear fixed on said shaft, a worm movable intoand out of" engagement with the worm wheel teeth of said gear, a pinionmeshing with the spur gear teeth of said gear, means for moving the worminto and out of mesh with the worm teeth of the gear, means for rotatingthe worm to impart rotation to the worm gear while in mesh therewith, abrake drum rigid with the pinion, and braking means associated with saiddrum to brake the rotary movement of the gear when the worm wheel ismoved out of mesh with the worm teeth of said gear.

2. An elevator operating mechanism comprising a lifting drum shaft, acombination worm and spur gear fixed on said shaft, a worm movable intoand out of engagement with the worm wheel teeth of said gear, a pinionmeshing with the spur gear teeth of said gear, means for moving the worminto and out of mesh with the worm teeth of the gear, means for rotatingthe worm to impart rotation to the worm gear while in mesh therewith, abrake drum rigid with the pinion, and manually controlled braking meansassociated with said drum to brake the rotary movement of the gear whenthe worm wheel is moved out of mesh with the worm teeth of said gear.

3. An elevator operating mechanism comprising a lifting drum shaft, acombination worm and spur gear fixed on said shaft, a driving wormmeshing with the worm teeth of said gear, a yoke carrying said worm andguided for movement toward and away from the gear to move the worm intoand out of mesh with the worm teeth of the gear, a cam cooperating withthe yoke to move the yoke toward and away from the gear, a pinionmeshing with the spur teeth of said gear, a brake drum rigid with thepinion, and braking means associated with the drum to brake the rotarymovement of the gear when the worm wheel is moved out of mesh therewith.

4. An elevator operating mechanism comprising a lifting drum shaft, acombination worm and spur gear fixed on said shaft, a driving wormmeshing with the worm teeth of said gear, a yoke carrying said worm andguided for movement toward and away from the gear to move the worm intoand out of mesh with the worm teeth of the gear, a cam cooperating withthe yoke to move the yoke toward and away from the gear, a pinionmeshing with the spur teeth of said gear, a brake drum rigid with thepinion, braking means associated with the drum to brake the rotarymovement of the gear when the worm wheel is moved out of mesh therewith,manually operable means remote from the worm and connected thereto torotate the same, manually operable means remote from the cam andconnected thereto to operate the same, and manually operable meansremote from the braking means and operatively connected thereto tooperate the same.

5. An elevator operating mechanism comprising a lifting drum shaft, acombination worm and spur gear fixed on said shaft, a driving wormmovable into and out of engagement with the worm wheel teeth of thegear, a pinion meshing with the spur gear teeth of said gear, means formoving the worm into and out of mesh with the worm teeth of the gear, abrake drum rigid with said pinion, a brake band cooperating with saiddrum, and a casing enclosing the combination gear and supporting theworm, pinion, brake drum and brake band in cooperative assembledrelation to permit them to be handled as a unit in mounted desiredangular position with respect to the axis of the lifting drum shaft.

6. An elevator operating mechanism comprising a lifting drum shaft, acombination worm and spur gear fixed on said shaft, a driving wormmovable into and out of engagement with the worm wheel teeth of thegear, a pinion meshing with the spur gear teeth of said gear, means formoving the worm into and out of mesh with the worm teeth of the gear, abrake drum rigid with said pinion, a brake band cooperating with saiddrum, a casing enclosing the combination gear and supporting the worm,pinion, brake drum and brake band in cooperative assembled relation topermit them to be handled as a unit in mounted desired angular positionwith respect to the axis of the lifting drum shaft, means positionedremote from the worm and connected thereto for driving the worm, meanspositioned remote from the worm moving means and connected thereto formoving the worm into and out of mesh with the gear, and means positionedremote from the brake band and connected thereto for controlling thetension of the brake band about the drum.

JULIEN N. SCHIFF.

